YOGESWARI

Yogeswari is an international yoga teacher and former dancer and choreographer from Switzerland. Her discovery of yoga at the age of sixteen coincided with a time of deep cultural and social transformation — the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements, and the desegregation of schools in the United States. These events, together with her early readings on Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, profoundly shaped her worldview. The principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) became a cornerstone of her life, instilling in her a visceral opposition to discrimination and injustice in all its forms.
She studied ethnology, theater, and dance in Madrid, Berlin, and the United States, and built a vibrant career in New York’s avant-garde dance scene, where her collaborations and immersion in African and Afro-Caribbean traditions enriched her understanding of rhythm, community, and ancestral wisdom that continues to inform her teaching today.
In 1994, Yogeswari stepped into the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York’s East Village for the first time. The method’s integration of art, spirituality, and advocacy spoke directly to her life experience. After completing her teacher training in 1999, she became one of Jivamukti Yoga’s leading senior teachers. For more than two decades, she has taught and mentored teachers worldwide, facilitating Jivamukti teacher trainings, workshops, and immersions across continents. Her teachings emphasize yoga as a path toward inner freedom and collective awakening, grounded in compassion, justice, and cultural awareness.
In 2007, she founded the AZAHAR Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a culture of peace in post-conflict regions through yoga, meditation, and the arts. With projects in Cambodia, Rwanda, Ukraine and beyond, AZAHAR provides education, scholarships, and cross-cultural exchange. Through this work Yogeswari continues to bridge yoga, human rights, and peacebuilding, advocating for a world where inner transformation fuels social change.

MARIA
MACAYA

María Macaya is the founder, president and CEO of Rādika Foundation.
In 2016, she founded Rādika with the mission of giving a voice to mental and emotional health and providing knowledge and tools to support wellbeing.
María specializes in trauma and Trauma-Sensitive Yoga. She is a certified practitioner of Gabor Maté’s professional Compassionate Inquiry program, holds a 300-hour certification from the Center for Trauma and Embodiment in Massachusetts, and an advanced certification from the Center for Yoga and Trauma Recovery in San Francisco. She introduced Trauma-Sensitive Yoga to Spain, an evidence-based practice for people with trauma, and has trained over 1,000 professionals in this methodology.
Her expertise also extends to addiction and recovery (Stanford University), neuroscience (King’s College and Nazareth Castellanos), polyvagal theory (Stephen Porges and Arielle Schwartz), and trauma studies with leading experts such as Bessel van der Kolk, Mario Salvador, and Carmen Cuenca.
In 2024, she published the book “Yoga Sensible al Trauma: sanando desde el interior”/”Trauma-Sensitive Yoga: Healing from Within” (Plataforma Editorial).
Her mission is to foster a deep shift in how trauma is understood and addressed, because a world aware of this suffering is more just and compassionate. She believes that everyone has the ability to heal themselves and, in doing so, support the healing of others.
In everyday life—whether in classrooms, hospitals, workplaces, or at home—there are opportunities to create environments that promote safety, dignity, and connection. By being mindful of how we shape these spaces, meaningful change can become real and accessible for everyone. For more than a decade, María’s work has focused on providing practical tools that help people actively participate in this process of transformation.

GONZALO
BRITO

Gonzalo Brito Pons is a Clinical Psychologist from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and holds a PhD in Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (United States), with over twenty years integrating Western and Buddhist psychology. His work connects mindfulness, compassion, and emotional regulation across clinical, educational, and community contexts, including projects for resilience and collective care in activism.
He is a certified instructor and international trainer in Compassion Cultivation Training (Stanford University), leading trainings in Spanish for professionals in mental health and education. Gonzalo specializes in Compassion-Focused Therapy, mindfulness applications, and trauma prevention, offering practical tools for burnout prevention, emotional balance, and compassionate leadership in high-demand environments.
He offers international trainings in Western and Buddhist psychology, mindfulness, compassion, and emotional regulation, designed for both professionals and the general public. He has authored several academic and non-academic publications.
Gonzalo’s way of teaching blends scientific evidence with experiential practices, emphasizing ethical, inclusive, and culturally sensitive approaches, accessible to both professionals and the general public. His work inspires sustainable personal and collective transformation for individuals and communities engaged in social change.

DINA
GHANDOUR

Dina Ghandour is a Palestinian healer, yoga teacher, and guide based in Dubai, UAE. She is deeply passionate about women’s health, energy, movement, and the decolonisation of wellness. Dina creates thoughtful, compassionate, and nurturing spaces where participants are invited to show up fully and be held as their whole, beautifully imperfect selves.
She is a 300-hour certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher, certified Birth Doula, Usui Reiki Master, and Womb and Fertility Massage Therapist. Her work bridges embodied practice, energy medicine, and spiritual inquiry, offering a holistic approach to healing that is both grounded and intuitive.
Dina teaches weekly yoga classes and offers one-to-one bodywork and energy healing sessions alongside experiential workshops in conscious touch, hands-on assisting, massage, and subtle energy work. She has facilitated over 20 international retreats, weaving together yoga, meditation, and now decolonial perspectives to support personal and collective transformation.
Rooted in a deep connection to spirit and community, Dina’s work is shaped by the lived experiences and needs that arise within the spaces she holds. She believes that individual healing is inseparable from our collective liberation and that wellness must engage both the inner and the social body.
Most recently, she is studying decolonising spirituality under the guidance of Dr. Rocío Rosales Mesa, expanding her ongoing exploration of how ancestral wisdom, energy, and embodied practices can restore wholeness in a world marked by disconnection.

CYNTHIA
BOURGEAULT

Cynthia Bourgeault is a mystic, minister/priest, occasional hermit, writer, teacher, and internationally renowned retreat leader, dedicated to reviving the ancient Christian contemplative and Wisdom traditions and bringing them into practice in contemporary life.
She has a broad and inclusive theological vision: her roots are firmly planted in the Benedictine monastic tradition, her wings soar in the Christian mystical lineage, and her wisdom is tempered by daily mindfulness and embodiment.
Cynthia is a core faculty emeritus at the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico and founding director of the international network of Wisdom Schools. Cynthia’s articles and essays have appeared in many journals and publications, and she is the author of numerous books, including Eye of the Heart, The Wisdom Jesus, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three, and The Heart of Centering Prayer. She was honored by the annual Watkins Review as one of the 100 most spiritually influential living people in 2021.

VIKRAM
SINGH

Born and raised in Rishikesh, India, Vikram comes from a family of yoga teachers and practitioners. The profound influence of his parents, Surinder Singh and Avtar Kaur, along with his life by the Ganges River and the Himalayas, shaped his upbringing and education, serving as living sources of spiritual and philosophical learning.
He holds an international 500-hour RYT certification and a specialization in Yoga Therapy from the prestigious Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute & Research Center in Lonavala, India—one of the world’s leading institutions in yoga education and research. He also completed university studies in Psychology, deepening his understanding of the connection between body, mind, and consciousness.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Surinder Singh, Vikram has embraced and adapted these teachings to modern times while always preserving the essence and depth of traditional Hatha Yoga. He has extensive experience teaching yoga teacher trainings and Yoga Therapy courses at his school, Swasti Yogashala in Rishikesh, and travels internationally to lead retreats and in-depth programs for yoga teachers.
His approach integrates traditional Hatha Yoga with the principles of Iyengar and Vinyasa Yoga, combining a strong somatic methodology, mindfulness, conscious breathing, alignment, and the use of props to create a practice that is deep yet accessible to all. His teaching encourages both outer and inner exploration, extending beyond the physical practice to inspire students to embody awareness, compassion, and discipline in daily life.
Recognized for his depth of knowledge, clarity, and presence, Vikram Singh is dedicated to preserving the essence of traditional yoga while guiding students toward conscious evolution and liberation.

CANDIDA
VIVALDA

Originally from Rome, Candida has been studying and practicing yoga and meditation for over twenty years with renowned teachers from various traditions. She has spent long periods in retreat and service at ashrams in India, Buddhist monasteries, and Christian communities, cultivating a broad vision of the spiritual path — one that is both contemplative and active.
She is an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher, a Senior Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Facilitator with the Rādika Foundation, and an Instructor in the MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) program from Brown University. She also completed the Advanced Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness training with David Treleaven.
Candida has explored compassion through a Buddhist lens and deepened her understanding through internationally recognized programs such as “Compassion Cultivation Training” (CCT) from Stanford University, “Compassionate Mind Training” (CMT) and “Mindful Self-Compassion” (MSC). She also completed the “Embodied Social Justice” program at The Embody Lab, exploring the intersections of embodiment, equity and social transformation.
Candida trains teachers in Jivamukti Yoga, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and Meditation, sharing a way of practicing and teaching that unites depth with purpose, inner silence with meaningful action. She also facilitates programs in Mindfulness and Compassion, weaving together spirituality, psychology, science and activism. In the past two years, she has offered Trauma-Sensitive Yoga training to over 50 Ukrainian yoga teachers through the program “Healing the Wounds of War.”
Recently, Candida has been rediscovering Christianity with a fresh heart — drawn to the authentic, radical, and transformative message of Jesus as a path of courage and love in action. Her mission is to spread the universal message of compassion, the vital force our world urgently needs, as widely and deeply as possible.

GABRIEL
PENA-BALLESTE

Specialized in Strategic Brand and Communication Management (ESADE) and in Digital Business (ESADE), he worked for years in communication and cultural management before undertaking a vital and professional shift.
He is the founder and director of The Yoga Gallery, a movement that promotes yoga as a tool for social transformation. From this platform, he leads international festivals, creative laboratories, and training programs designed to cultivate agents of change through yoga, art, and activism. Yoga teacher trained with master Surinder Singh in Rishikesh, he combines spiritual practice with a critical and contemporary vision of the world. His work and trajectory are deeply inspired by the thought of Jesus of Nazareth as a figure of spiritual revolt, and by voices who have turned their art or their lives into acts of awareness: Franco Battiato, Tracy Chapman, Lluís Llach, Silvio Rodríguez, and figures such as Angela Davis and Pepe Mujica.
Poet and writer with several published works and collaborations in outlets such as The New Barcelona Post. In all his work, Gabriel seeks a single thread: the pursuit of a living truth that unites body, word, and action.

REBECA
RECATERO

Born in Madrid, Rebeca was first introduced to the philosophy of yoga by her grandmother, a practitioner and teacher during the 1980s. She began her formal yoga studies at the Jivamukti School in Sydney, Australia. Inspired by her first practice, she continues to study regularly with her teachers.
Teaching the philosophy of yoga is her way of inspiring a heartfelt compassion toward all beings. She shares her teachings as a reflection of her dedicated daily practice and her attentive observation of the natural world.
Rebeca is the founder and director of the Jivamukti Yoga Madrid school. As a senior teacher and mentor, she trains yoga teachers within the Jivamukti lineage, sharing not only methods and techniques but also a living spirit of inquiry and a deep commitment to creating positive change in the world.
Her life’s work is devoted to advocating for animal rights, and teaching yoga is her heartfelt way of contributing to a life of happiness and freedom for all beings. She founded the For Them Foundation — a project that envisions yoga and art as means to inspire people to reconsider their relationships with the beings around them and to recognize how our choices shape their lives.
Rebeca’s intention is to continue sharing the practice of yoga as deeply and widely as possible, nurturing awareness, compassion, and meaningful change in the world.

BOB
PECK

Bob Peck is a festival award-winning filmmaker, author, lawnmower, meditator, and a spiritual student of Christ, Krishna, the Buddha, and Paramahansa Yogananda. With bachelor’s degrees in Religious Studies & Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas, he has made ‘conscious films’—spiritual & advocacy documentaries—since graduating in 2011. He’s also a Kriya Yoga practitioner through KYI and a certified mindfulness & meditation teacher. His day job is centered around ads and mindfulness in Big Tech. A native Austinite, he lives with his wife and young son in Austin, Texas. Original Sin Is A Lie is his first book.

KAREN
PRATS

​​Karen is a conscious tech entrepreneur, coach, and author with over 15 years of experience in the global startup and innovation ecosystem. She inspires individuals, organizations, and communities to reach their fullest potential and create lasting, positive change in the world. Shortlisted as one of the ‘20 candidates to lead the next business decade in Spain’ (2018) and named European Web Woman Entrepreneur (2015), she has a strong background in marketing, PR, and business growth, complemented by a master’s in graphic design and the Business Growth program at IESE Business School.
She co-founded Go—PopUp, the leading international marketplace for Pop Up Stores, and circles.house, a global co-living platform for conscious entrepreneurs. Currently based in Germany, she is building Consciously Academy, an AI-based education platform to elevate collective consciousness, and leading the Founders Wellbeing Track for the AI Founders Program at Campus Founders in Heilbronn.
Her purpose is to share her knowledge and experience with individuals and organizations driving change, helping them cultivate self-awareness, build sustainable and thriving communities, and turn business into a force for good in the world.